Dear Readers,

It’s midterm examination season for many undergraduate students. Yet, there seems to be a festive atmosphere on campus with alumni starting to return for Homecoming 2023. I admire the commitment of graduates to return to their alma mater in the United States, which is a big country to travel across.

For those returning, hope you have a happy Homecoming event this year.

Research Updates

A Double Network Hydrogel Dressing Enhanced By Catechin-loaded Mesoporous Silica for Accelerating Wound Repair In Conjunction With Red-light Therapy (Link)

• The authors developed a hydrogel dressing made of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA), chitosan, and catechin-loaded mesoporous silica (CMSN).

• The double network of PEGDA/chitosan increases the mechanical stability of the wound dressing. Meanwhile, CMSN releases catechin for anti-inflammatory benefits.

• A unique approach in this work is the combination of hydrogel science with conventional medical practices like red-light therapy. The authors combined the hydrogel dressing with red-light therapy, which can stimulate blood circulation, wound oxygenation, and collagen synthesis. They found that this combination enhanced wound healing in rats with full-thickness skin wounds.

Conductive And Antibacterial Dual-Network Hydrogel For Soft Bioelectronics (Link)

• The dual network hydrogel is made from polyvinyl alcohol and poly(acrylic acid) with borax introduced by a swelling and semi-dehydration method. Borax provides free boron ions that enhance the ionic conductivity and antibacterial activity of the hydrogel.

• Low modulus and strong wet-tissue adhesion (~70 kPa shear strength at 3 mins), enables this hydrogel to conform and bond quickly to irregular tissues.

• It can also serve as a biosensing conductor that can record and monitor human muscle movements and realize neuromodulation through low-current electronic stimulation of rat nerves.

• The hydrogel also shows the ability to accelerate wound healing by preventing infection and maintaining a moist environment. This hydrogel can become a safer option for next generation bioelectronic materials in human healthcare.

Cascade Reaction of Thiol–Disulfide Exchange Potentiates Rapid Fabrication of Polymer Hydrogels (Link)

• The authors report a fast and versatile strategy to prepare polymer hydrogels based on a thiol−disulfide cascade reaction. They use DTNB (Ellman’s reagent) to trigger the cross-linking of thiolated polymers, such as PEG, HA, SA, PAA, and PMA.

• The new method can produce hydrogels with a gelation time that is 20 times faster than the conventional oxidation method.

• These hydrogels also have low critical gelation concentrations, self-healing abilities, low toxicity, and anti-inflammatory properties.

• It can be further functionalized with thiol-containing molecules for cell capture and release.

• The authors envision that this new method can be used to rapidly fabricate and functionalize hydrogels for various biomedical applications, such as hemostasis, tissue engineering, therapy, and drug delivery.

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